


I missed you

by Clearly_not_a_potato06



Series: Alternative World War 2 [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Afterlife Romance, F/M, Father-son counselling, Fix-It, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Grandfather Stalin, I might make Stalin democratic, Neglecting fix-it, Pethaps because all he needed was understanding, Why do I make someone evil such as Stalin to seem humane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-07 08:58:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16851088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clearly_not_a_potato06/pseuds/Clearly_not_a_potato06
Summary: The love of his life, Ekaterine Svanidze, was Joseph's first wife. He loved her so much that her death broke him, even if he had a  heart of stone. Historically, he admited indirectly to his youngest child, Sveltana, that he still loved her, even 30 years after her death.He recollects flashbacks of their relationship, having him longing for her. Then, he finds himself in one of his favourite places in his youth, but in the dreamworld, where he finds Kato. She offers him some important advice that might change the world, for humanity, but also for his first son.





	1. My dear Kato...

"You look tired, Soso. Another hard day, wasn't it?" she asked, her warm, kind eyes veiling Joseph's soul in a protective aura. 

"It was. But I am glad I could make it to see you another day, my love." He said, pulling a ring out of his pocket. It was silverish, with a small, green gem on top. At the sight of it, Kato was awed, as she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Would you, one and only that kindles my heart, be my wife and eternal soulmate?" He said, kneeing before her, with the ring in one hand, held up, his eyes targeting hers.

"I... I will..." she said, unable to speak of emotions. "I will be your wife now, and always." She smiled, as he put the ring on her finger, and then grabbed her into a kiss. 

"You are everything to me. Everything. If I would ever lose you... I would be lost." Joseph said, his voice slightly shaking. 

"Do not be afraid, Soso. No matter what, I will be there for you." She said, conforting him in a manner only she could.

\-----------------------------

It was the middle of a cold night, but it worth it. In spite of his lack of faith in God, Stalin agreed on having a priest uniting their destiny in a chapel, even if it was to be hid from authorities.

Everything was made in silence, but it did not diminish the power of the act itself. Not at all. When they got back to their home, Kato started acting strange. She was a hand on her stomach, and approached Joseph:

"Soso, I have to tell you something" she said, caressing her abdomen. 

"What is it, my love?" he responded gently.

"I am bearing your child, my dear." She answered, slowly taking Joseph's hand and put it on her stomach. Stalin was trully surprised, as he got overjoyed in a matter of seconds.  
"This...this is wonderful!" he said, exalted by the moment. "I.." Joseph started phrasing, but he gave up, deciding to get his arms around her, and kiss her, for she is his only resort for his humanity.

\--------------

Kato was in her cell, waiting for news about the judiciary struggle that could make a difference between setting her free and having to give birth in prison. Footsteps could be heard moments later; Joseph managed to set her free, and he came to take her home. Once back home, he threw his arms around her.

"I missed you so much, my love. I finally managed to set you free, after all the fight in the court." he said, as exhaustion could resonate in his tone.

"I am glad you could get me out of there, my darling." she said, equally exhausted.

\--------------

It was time for Kato to give birth to a boy, that had the eyes of his mother, and the chin of his father. It was a reason of joy for both of them, cheerishing the little one as the only purpose of their lives. Joseph could feel his heart grow, realizing how he was finally surrounded by a loving family. The baby, held by Kato, was given into Joseph's arms, immediately beginning to endear the little one. 

"Hey there, laddie" he said to his son, rocking him in his arms, being unable to coprehend for the moment the willpower that was given not by one that represented everything, but two that were the universe itself for Stalin. 

"How should we name him?" Kato asked, caressing baby's head while in his father's arms. 

"How about... Yakov Dzugashvili, just like my godfather?" he asked in proposal.

Kato analyzed for a moment. "Then so be it." She spoke out, approving.

"Hey there, little Yakov...you will grow strong as your father and wise as your mother, will you?" Joseph said as he tickled his son's chin.

\-------------------------------

"I know it is difficult, but I need you to move to Baku urgently." Joseph said decisive to Kato.

"You finally got a way to rob Rothschild's bank..." She read his mind.

"Exactly, and I cannot have you both at risk while the operation runs." he told her gently.

"Always you and your plans" she ended sarcastically.

\---------------------------------------

Kato was struggling with many problems: not having enough food, which resulted in feeding the baby over herself, not having Soso by most of the time, and newly, health problems. It did not take long until she caught typhoid fever. She was resting on the bed, weakened by the disease. The door opened, and Joseph flew in a hurry right by Kato's side. 

"You have finally came..." she spoke weakened, as rash covered her angelic face, and sweat was streaming across it.

"Of course I came, I had to..." he said, grabbing her pale hand and kissing it.

With all her power, she rose her hand and caressed Joseph's smallpox-scarred cheek. "Take care of the little one. I love you with all my heart and soul, you will be my husband in forever, and my soulmate in eternity." She said, before closing her eyes and letting her hand fall.

"Kato?..." Joseph asked tensed. No answer. "Kato?" he asked again, panicked, patting her in hope for a reponse. He tried and tried, finally giving up. 

"Kato...." he began sobbing, holding her lifeless hand on his forehead, before breaking down. He just lost his only love, he felt as if the sky fell and crushed him, as if the universe decided to punish him for fighting the bourgeoisie. His soul felt all of the sudden, desolated, as if all of what defined him as human left with Kato.

\-----------------

Yakov's jewish fiancé ran out of his house, crying. Wrathful, Yakov got into his room, slamming the door after him. A loud bang could be heard. Nada rushed into the room, and as she opened the door, she screamed:

"Joseph! Yakov shot himself!"

Joseph ran to see the situation. Seeing his son lying on the floor, with a wound in his chest, though, far from heart. Stalin laughed:

"Ha, he can't even shoot straight."

\----------

"You never have acted like a father to me!" Yakob yelled at him, before rushing out of the house.

\----------

"Joseph, are you alright?" Stalin woke up on Leon's pat on the shoulder. He found himself in a bed, in his Secretary mansion, that felt quite empty, with Nade gone, Yakob moved out and Sveltana at a girls' school.

"I heard you crying in sleep. Are you fine?" Leon asked him again.

"Yes..." He said half-asleep, rubbing his eyes. "I had... a dream.."

"You long for Kato..." Leon concluded. "You yelled her name..."

"I did?" Joseph asked disoriented. "Ugh, it was awful. I had flashbacks of my whole relationship with her. I had it all, then... nothing" He explained.

"It was just a nightmare, you should go back to sleep. The sun hasn't dawned yet."

"Maybe I should." He said, then realizing. "Hold on, what are you doing in my house?"

"Technically, it is my house now, and it felt wrong to kick you out in the streets."

Stalin narrowed his eyes. He might regret, more or less, the fact that he gave up power in an emotional impulse. It wasn't his nature. Regardless, he greeted Leon: "Good night then."

"Good night" Leon responded, leaving the room. Stalin took a deep breath, and shut his eyes.


	2. I missed you...

This time, he found himself in the middle of a fog, with only a way like a tunnel, that opened to a landcape that from the looks of it, seemed a mountain meadow. As he went through the tunnel, reaching the end of the fog, he realized that it wasn't just any meadow, but the one he cherished the most: the one he enjoyed writing poetry on, the one where him and Kato promised themselves to each other, where he could forget about the daily pressures he faced.

It all seemed to be the same as he remembered: the Caucasus mountains peeking in the sight, lively flora, full of buzzling small critters, and polished logs there and there. Only one thing was out of place was a rustic cabin on the verge of the woods. As he got closer and closer, he became more unsure of what his eyes could see. There was his dear Kato, sitting on the porch. When he was sure of what he was seeing, he began running towards her, and when the image got clearer, he has remarked that she was not a day older from what she remembers her as, just as delicate, just as charming. As he ran, he realized that he was a lot younger aswell, as he could see his hands younger than they really were, and that his beard and messy hair were back. When he got close enough, Kato woke off her chair and walked faster and faster towards Joseph, until they collided, embracing each other, seemingly in bone and flesh. 

"Kato, my dear, you are here!" he shouted of ecstacy, giving her a long, wholesome kiss. "I missed you. I missed you so much!"

"My dear Soso, I missed you too, you have no idea how much!" her soft voice was like honey to Joseph's heart. He missed someone calling him Soso...

"We are finally toghether, at least." Joseph said, joyed by her sight. 

Kato stepped back. "No, Soso, we are not toghether. At least, not yet" she said, carresing his cheek with her delicate hand. 

"What do you mean?" He asked, worried.

"This is a dream. I am in the afterworld. This is the only way I could talk to you." she explained. 

"You mean... I am dying?" Joseph asked perplexed, taking her gentle hands.

"No, you seem to have still a long way until there, but" Kato said, adopting an advisory tone:"you must give up on your brutality. I know how hard is to open up your stone heart. But I also know that I could warm that stone into living tissue. I want you to open up to the world, Soso. The world is in a dire state, and it needs a strong will that must direct it to harmony and cooperation, rather than fear and terror."

Stalin wanted to protest her words, but he was mesmerized; his reluctance on the idea was visible.

"If you won't do so, the heavens won't forgive you, and tear us apart for eternity, my love" Kato added. "You have done many deeds that took many people's lives, but you can still can prove yourself as the Soso I know, a father that is caring and protective to the ones he loves, not as the Stalin that is cold and brutal."

Stalin's heart took a step forward to his mind, and said words he never could have said otherwise but to Kato: "I promise. I promise I will make what is right from now on, my love" he said.

Hearing this, she smiled, knowing that the her Soso was back. She then materialized an orb by cycling her hands, to Joseph's shock. She was amused by his dropped jaw, and began explaining:

"This is how I know what happens in the living world, my dear. Our souls have powers that are bound by our material bodies. Here, we are not bound to anything, and we can do things we never thought we could. Through this orb, I can see anyone's doing at the moment, and if in lifetime, I formed an emotional bond with someone, I am capable of seeing not only the present, but also the past." She said as the blurriness of the orb tranquiled, and it became crystal clear.

"So you could see my life without you..." Joseph concluded, a bit of sorrow resonating in his tone.

"Indeed. I saw you devastated, I know you almost ended your life, telling yourself that without me, you have no purpose. I know you couldn't love anyone else after I left, this is why you and Nade couldn't be happy as husband and wife. I know that your love for me never died, knowing that even after 30 years, your heart still shills at the sound of my name."

"You have watched me through all this time..." Stalin said in revelation.

"I did. I promised you I will be there for you, even if as observer..." she said, moving her heart-melting gaze from his husband's eyes towards the orb. "You must see something, my dear" she pointed out at the orb that began materializing someone he knew, it was Yakov. He was standing in a dark room, holding a frame containing a photo of her mother. He was just standing there, tapping the glass. "Why didn't father take care of you?" he asked rhetorically. "Why does he hate me, mom?" he talked to the photo. The image got a bit brighter, as it seems that a door opened, and Yulia came in to consolate him. After this, the image blurred, and soon, the orb vanished.

At the sight of the scene, Joseph couldn't feel less than shocked. He was an asshole to his son all this time, and he did not deserve it at all. Joseph realized, that the only reason he disregarded his son was not his lack of cooperation and the arguments they had, but the fact that he reminded Joseph of Kato, and that made him suffer. Yakob made his father suffer by the moment he was near him, and it wasn't even his fault. 

"He still considers you his father, Soso. He loves you, even if you pushed him away." Kato conforted him. "You need to prove yourself as his loving father before it is too late."  
Joseph, shook, felt how guilt filled his soul, regarding himself as a fool for not being aware of his doing all this time. He treated his son like garbage, just because he wanted to keep his former mentality, "feelings are weaknesses". He took a deep breath and spoke out:

"I'm an idiot. I hope he won't forgive me." he said, filled by self-dissapointment.

"Don't say that. He will forgive you, I am sure of that." Kato reassured her love, engulfing his face with her hands. 

"Everyone makes mistakes, but some mistakes can be undone, even if partially." she continued.

"But I am not worthy of him calling me father..." Joseph remarked, saddened by himself.

"My dear Soso, you are worthy of everything." she told him in order to man him up, before giving him a kiss. 

Slowly, the surroundings began to get foggy, Kato was slowly vanishing. "I am your wife in forever, and you are husband eternally, my loved Soso." she said, as her tender face disappeared into nothingness. Stalin found himself again in the fog.

\----------------------------

He woke up, rushing to catch deep breaths. He was completely aware of what he has seen, and he was certain that all of this was not just a farce of his own mind. 

He had to find Yakob as soon as he could...


	3. Thank you for visiting, father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stalin rushes to undo the wrongs he have done to his son, therefore, he visits him early in the morning.

Yakov was a steady man, as he could get himself a cozy house for him and his wife, Yulia, working in the army as Lieutenant in the Moscow's First Garrison Division, having a decent pay that could ensure a careless childhood to his two kids, Yevgeni and Galina, two little toddlers whose innocent smiles could brighten anyone's day. And he managed it all by himself, in spite of his father being the secretary of the Soviet Union, or at least, he used to be... 

He woke up early this morning: a military exercise before the parade meant to celebrate the return of Trotsky had to be done, and the his sergeant squad required directives. He ate his breakfast in a hurry, then he offered a kiss to his beloved Yulia, and hugged his kids before getting fit for going outside. When he opened the door, the person he expected the least was before his eyes.

"Father" Yakov said as if he wasn't contented at Stalin's sight.

"Son..." Stalin replied, seemingly warmer in tone than other times.

"Sorry, but I cannot talk to you right now, I must hurry to go to the military base" Yakov tried to cut off, while attempting to slith beside his father into the street. 

"Don't bother. I make will sure that if someone above you gets to scold you for not being there, I will make sure to switch their grade with yours." Stalin said, blocking any attempt of escape of his son.

"How? You are no longer the Secretary" he yelled at his father.

"No, but I am the Secretary's right hand now..." Stalin rectified. "Sometimes, even the most capable people have to step back, to give others the chance to prove themselves."  
"Wha?" Yakov said perplexed by his words. "What the hell are you saying?"

"I have come to discuss with you something." Stalin said on a grave tone, entering the house. "Something that I realized it bothered you for a very long time, something I was more than just neglecting about."

"What do you mean?" Yakov asked skeptical and defensive.

"I mean." Joseph began to elaborate:"You are my first son. You never had me there in your childhood, and even now, I am not acting like the father you should have." he said, grabbing his son's both shoulders.

"Father, you don't have to, really." Yakov said, shrugging away. 

"I must." he replied, stepping closer to his son. "I know that you have a hard time having me, of all people, as a father; it is understandable. I... just had a revelation that I have done many mistakes that I have to undo."

"I don't believe you. Is this a farse of yours?" he asked, stepping back. Stalin stood speechless. Yakov shook his head, disregarding, turning around and walking away. Three steps he got to walk before Stalin continued:

"I had a dream. Your mother was there." It took to say before Yakov stopped and turned around to his father once again. "She told me to do a change, to repair things before it is too late. She has shown me that you miss her. She knows that. She also shown me that you still regard me as a father, even after all this mistreatment."

Yakov pinned his sight into the ground. Moments later, he nodded, saying "Thank you for visiting, father" before turning around and going into another room. That moment, Yulia, along with the two toddlers, came in. Yulia, on a soft tone that resembled a bit to Kato's, said:

"Give him time, he needs to process it. Don't doubt that he doesn't see you any less than his father. He is just shocked by this sudden change. That's all."

"Yulia," Stalin addressed to her. "I have to apologize, for all the mistreatment and prejudices I've thrown at you, before even knowing you."

"Thank you, it is understandable, really" she said, reconcilliating. "Being jewish is not really a perk these days."

The kids were lining up to their mother's skirt, playing some sort of peekaboo with their grandfather. 

"You are not as scary as papa's friends say" Yegveni said shily. 

"Of course not, kid." He smiled at his grandson. Yegveni began walking towards Stalin, having him hugging his leg all of the sudden.

"Ha, I caught you, grandpa!" Yegveni giggled.

"Aah, help me, this feroucious little boy is attacking me!" Joseph was pretending to be scared to play his grandson's game. Afterwards, he leaned to grab him into a hug, then gave him a ruffle. Seconds later, Stalin was abushed by his grandaughter, giving him a hug from behind, along with some unnecessary taps on his head. Yulia seemed relieved to see her children getting along with their grandfather.

\------------------------------------------------

Kato was on the porch, using the orb again, watching her love playing with their grandchildren.

"I am so proud of you, Soso" she said to herself.


End file.
